Hanger structure for medical liquid collection container



N0). 3, 1970 SPURRIER ETAL v 3,531,109

HANGER STRUCTURE FOR MEDICAL LIQUID C OLLECT ION CONTAINER Filed April15, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w 4 '9 H2 6 2 'HUlm "I"""' wil p Nll" milllsoo cc IOOO'CC mu mpum m 5 001i 0. mu

4 T TORNEY uvvEA/ro RS 1970 H. M. SPURRIER L HANGER STRUCTURE FORMEDICAL LIQU ID COLLECTION CONTAINER Filed April 15, 1968 I 2Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 8. FIG. [0.

s m T w WW M L 4 H ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofice Patented Nov. 3,1970 3,537,109 HANGER STRUCTURE FOR MEDICAL LIQUID COLLECTION CONTAINERHal M. Spurrier, Granada Hills, and Cole C. Williams, Burbank, Califi,assignors to American Hospital Supply Corporation, Evanston, Ill., acorporation of Illmors Filed Apr. 15, 1968, Ser. No. 721,244 Int. Cl.A61g 9/00 U.S. Cl. 4110 17 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A flexibleplastic bag for collecting urine from a patient. The bag has a plastichandle with a tubular neck which handle is sealed to an upper end of thebag. Fillets adjoining the neck and pointed ends on the handle create asmooth contour for a liquid-tight heat seal between the bag and handle.This handle has undercut shoulders adjacent the tubular neck for holdinga collection tube adapter to the tubular neck and has a tear-off hangerstrap that is adapted to be looped around a bedrail to suspend thecontainer during collection of urine.

This invention relates to a container for collecting urine from apatient. More particularly it relates to a unique handle constructionwhich is integrally sealed to a top end of a urine collection bag andthis handle has its own hanging strap, which is removable, forsuspending the from a bedrail.

In hospitals it is often necessary to collect urine from a patient. Thishappens frequently with post operative patients and patients withurological disorders. To collect urine from the patient, a nurse insertsa catheter into his or her urethral canal. This catheter is connected toa flexible collection tube which leads to a container below the patient,and urine drains by gravity from the patients bladder, through thecollection tube, and into the container.

To prevent cross-contamination and to eliminate the need for repetitivesterilization of a particular container, the entire collection tube andcontainer are discarded after use on a particular patient. Because ofthis one-patientuse, economics dictate that such urine collectionsystems be made very inexpensively. This invention provides aninexpensive, disposable urine collection container which includes itsown hanger strap integrally molded with a thermoplastic handle, whichhandle is sealed within a mouth of the container. This handle has atubular neck for joining to a collection tube and preferably has uniqueconverging end portions and fillet structure for forming a liquid-tightseal with the container. A one-piece, injection-molded, thermoplasticpart provides the entire handle and hanging strap structure for thecontainer. The invention provides a great improvement over previouscontainers that had elaborate, separately formed hangers of string,hooks, chains, etc.

A better understanding of the invention will be had with reference tothe attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of the container with attachedcollection tube;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1 showing thecontainer hanging from a bedrail by the hanging strap;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of FIG. 1, showing howthe handle is sealed in a mouth of the bag;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary exploded view of the tubular neckportion of the handle shown with a collection tube;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the adapter shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 88 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a plug used to close 01f the handlestubular neck when not connected to the flexible collection tube; and

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along line 1010 of FIG. 9.

Referring in detail to these drawings, FIG. 1 shows a layfiatthermoplastic bag 1 joined along its side edges and transversely heatsealed at 2 along its bottom. The bag has opposed walls 3 and 4, thetops of which are sealed along heat seal 5 to a thermoplastic handle 6.Handle 6 has a pair of finger holes 7 and 8 for carrying the bag.Preferably, one wall of the bag has volumetric calibrations to indicatethe amount of urine collected. In FIG. 1, flap sections have been tornfrom the bag to show its construction.

When urine is collected from a patient, the collection container isusually hung from a bedrail. In the past, there have been elaboratebrackets, chains, strings, etc. for connecting the container to thebedrail. While these systems worked, they required assembly by themanufacturer, thus adding to the cost of the container. This inventionincludes a hanging strap 9 that requires no assembly by themanufacturer. It is integrally molded to a top portion of the handle andis connected thereto by a frangible web portion with a V-shaped groove10.

'In connecting the container of this invention to a bedrail, a nursesimply tears off the integral strap 9 and threads it through an aperture11 in the handle. One end of strap 9 has a slot with a wide portion 12and a narrow portion 13. The opposite end of the strap has a stem 14with an enlarged spherical head 15, which head will pass through thelarge portion of the slot but not through the narrow portion of theslot. Thus, the headed stem and slot will hold the strap in a looparound the bedrail as shown in FIG. 3. A pair of detents 16 and 17 atthe mouth of the narrow portion 13 of the slot retains the stern in thenarrow portion of the slot.

As explained, the handle 6 and hanging strap 9 are integrally molded asone-piece. The handle also has an integral vertically disposed tubularneck 19 through which urine can enter the bag. As shown in FIGS. 4 and6, the tubular neck 19 is much wider than the remainder of the handle.We have found it difficult to reliably heat seal the walls of the bag oneach side of a cylindrical neck of a flat handle so the bag does notleak at juncture points between the handle and neck. This inventionovercomes this problem by providing tangential fillets 20, 21, 22 and 23between the tubular neck and flat handle portion. Thus, the bag Wallsare sealed along a contour which has no abrupt changes that might causepoints of leakage. It has also been found that seals of the bag wallsare improved by laterally tapering the ends 24 and 25 of the handle 6 toprovide pointed ends as shown in FIG. 4, and extending the bag wallsbeyond these pointed ends where the bag walls are sealed to each other.

Referring to FIG. 1, handle 6 also has a perforated extension 26 ontubular neck 19. Extension 26 is inside the flexible bag and acts as asafety feature, preventing the bag wall from getting folded across thetubular necks outlet to block urine flow.

As used, the container is connected to a flexible collection tube 27. Ata distal end of this collection tube is a connector 28 for attaching toa catheter, and at a proximate end of the tube is an adapter 29 forjoining to the tubular neck 19 of the handle. This adapter cooperateswith the handle sections near the tubular neck for assem- 3. blying theadapter to the neck and holding them together.

FIGS. 5, 7 and 8 show the adapter 29 which has a depending inner skirt30 and a top wall 31 which extends laterally beyond the inner skirt toform a flange that overlies a lip of the tubular neck. The inner skirt30 fits inside the tubular neck and a small outer skirt 32 fits outsidethe tubular neck. The inner skirt is substantially larger in diameterthan the collection tube 2 7, and the adapter has a drip tube 33extending downwardly from its top wall 31. Hence, the inner skirt 30provides a drip housing that causes an air break in the urine column andreduces the chance of creep contamination from the collected urine backinto the patients bladder. Between the inner skirt 30 and tubular neck19 are a series of longitudinal ribs 35 and 36. These ribs can be eitheron an inside surface of the tubular neck or on an outside surface ofinner skirt 30. The ribs combine with a vent rib 34 on the adapterflange to form an air vent and urine overflow system forthe container.

FIG. best shows the adapter flange which has a pair of diametricallyopposed notched ears 37 and 38. These ears are used to cam slopingsurfaces 39 and 40 apart so the ears can snap under overlying shoulders41 and 42 on the handle, which shoulders hold the adapter to the tubularneck. The adapter is held from rotational movement by the notchesengaging upstanding handle surfaces 43 and 44 directly beneath theshoulders. However, the adapter can be manually twisted to remove theears from under the shoulder to disconnect the adapter from the tubularneck for emptying the bag.

When the adapter is removed from the tubular neck either before or aftercollection of urine, the tubular neck can be closed off by a plug 45shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. This plug has notched ears similar to theadapter and has inner and outer skirts 46 and 47. If the container issold with the plug 45 in the tubular neck, preferably the outer skirt 47is spot welded to the tubular neck in one narrow area to indicate theplug had not been tampered with. The spot weld is weak enough to bebroken by twisting the plug when the container is ready for use.

In the foregoing specification, specific examples have been used todescribe the invention. However, it is understood that persons skilledin the art can make certain modifications to these examples withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In combination:

a medical liquid collection container;

a thermoplastic handle permanently secured to the top of said containerfor supporting the container,

said handle including a detachable hanging strap integrally molded withsaid handle and being manually separable from said handle;

said handle and strap including a mutual manually-frangible sectionintegrally joining the same, said handle having strap-receiving means,said strap having loop-forming means at each end for joining the ends ofthe strap when separated from the handle, and forming a loop extendingthrough the strap receiving means for suspending said container, saidhandle including means for introducing a medical fluid into saidcontainer whereby separation of said strap from said handle apprises onethat the medical liquid collection container has been previously usedand inadvertent reuse before sterilization is prevented.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the strap-receivingmeans is an aperture in the handle.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein the handle has atleast one finger hole distinct from the strap-receiving aperture.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the manuallyfrangible section includes a V-groove.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the loop-formingmeans includes a slot at one end of the strap, which slot has a wideportion and a narrow portion; and a stem with an enlarged head at anopposite end of the strap, said enlarged head being able to pass throughthe wide portion of the slot but not through the narrow portion of theslot.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein the container is alayflat bag having opposed side Walls with a mouth at the bags upperend, and the thermoplastic handle is flat and fits within said mouth,said combination also including: laterally converging end portions onthe handle which become pointed on each end; said means for introducinga medical fluid into said container comprises a vertically disposedtubular neck integrally formed with the handle, said tubular neck beingwider than the handle; and integrally-formed tapering fillets on eachside of said tubular neck joining the neck to the handle, said wallsbeing bonded in a liquid-tight seal to the neck, fillets and handleincluding its converging end portions to form a liquid-tight chamber.

7. In combination: a layflat thermoplastic bag having opposed walls anda mouth at an upper end of the bag; a flat thermoplastic handle fittingwithin the mouth of the bag, and permanently secured thereto, saidhandle including means for permitting a medical fluid to be introducedinto said bag, said handle having an aperture therethrough; an elongatedflexible thermoplastic hanging strap integrally molded to a top of saidhandle as a homogeneous thermoplastic unit with the handle; a frangiblesection including a V-groove joining the strap and handle, whereby thehanging strap can be manually torn from the handle and used to supportthe container by forming a loop through the aperture in the handle; saidstrap having an elongated slot in one end of the strap, which slot has awide portion and a narrow portion; and a stem with an enlarged headextending from an opposite end of the hanging strap, said enlarged headbeing capable of passing through the wide portion of the slot but notthrough the narrow portion of the slot.

8. In combination: a flexible thermoplastic bag having opposed sidewalls with a mouth at the bags upper end; a flat thermoplastic handlefitted within said mouth, said handle having laterally converging endportions that become pointed on each end; a vertically disposed tubularneck integrally formed with the handle, said tubular neck being widerthan other portions of the handle; and integrally formed taperingfillets on diametrically opposed sides of said tubular neck and joiningthe neck to other portions of the handle, said bag walls being bonded ina liquid-tight seal to the neck, fillets and handle, including thehandles converging end portions, to form a liquidtight chamber.

9. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein the bag walls extendtransversely beyond the pointed ends of the handle and the bag walls aresealed'to each other at such extensions.

10. The combination as set forth in claim 8 which also includes aflexible collection tube with a distal end adapted to connect to a fluidsource; and anadapter joined to a proximate end of the collection tube,said adapter con necting with the tubular neck whereby fluid can flowfrom the collection tube, through the adapter and tubular neck, and intothe bag.

11. The combination as set forth in claim 10 wherein the handle extendsabove said tubular neck and has at least one overhanging shouldersurface adapted to abut a top of the adapter keeping it connected to thetubular neck.

12. The combination as set forth in claim 11 wherein the adapter has adepending skirt fitting within the tubular neck, said adapter having anotched ear portion which can temporarily lock to the handle under saidoverhanging shoulder surface, whereby upon rotation of the adapter toremove the ear from under the overhanging shoulder surface the adaptercan be lifted from the tubular neck.

13. The combination as set forth in claim 12 wherein the handle has alead-in surface portion above said overhanging shoulder surface, whichlead-in surface portion slants toward said tubular neck, whereby theadapter can be shoved downwardly to connect to the tubular neck with thenotched ear camming against the slanted surface portion until theadapter snaps under the overhanging shoulder surface.

14. The combination as set forth in claim 8 wherein the combination alsoincludes a plug with a depending skirt that fits within the tubularneck, said plug having means thereon for retaining the plug connected tothe tubular neck.

15. In combination: a flexible, thermoplastic bag having opposed sidewalls joined together about their periphery except along their top edgeswhich form a mouth of the bag; a flat thermoplastic handle fitted withinsaid month, said handle having laterally converging end portions thatbecome pointed at each end, the handle including at least one fingerhole therethrough; a vertically disposed tubular neck wider than otherportions of said handle, which neck is integrally formed with thehandle; overhanging shoulder surfaces on the handle on opposite sides ofthe tubular neck; the handle having lead-in surfaces above saidoverhanging surfaces, said lead-in surfaces slanting inwardly towardsaid tubular neck; integrally formed tapered fillets on each side of thetubular neck joining the neck to the handle, said bag walls being bondedin a liquid-tight seal to the tubular neck, the fillets and the handleincluding its converging end portions; a flexible collection tube with aconnector on its distal end for connecting to a fluid source; an adapterconnected to the proximate end of the collection tube,

said adapter including a top Wall and a depending skirt telescopicallyjoining with the tubular neck, said top wall extending beyond the skirtand overlying a lip of the tubular neck; and a pair of diametricallyopposed notched ears on the adapter, the ears being adapted to cam thelead-in surfaces of the handle outwardly until the ears snap under theoverhanging shoulder surfaces, said adapter being removable from thetubular neck upon twisting the adapter until the notched ears are freefrom the overhanging shoulders.

16. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein the tubular neckand adapter skirt have vent means therebetween.

17. The combination as set forth in claim 15 wherein the adapter has adrip tube extending downwardly from its top wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,048,911 8/1962 Alrnon 25-1183,344,977 10/1967 Kamins et a1. 229-54 3,357,429 12/ 1967 Folkrnan eta1. 150-8 3,371,897 3/1968 Serany et a1. 248- FOREIGN PATENTS 626,853 7/1949 Great Britain.

FRED C. MATTERN, JR., Primary Examiner R. I. SHER, Assistant ExaminerU.S. C1. X.R.

